Many organizations are replacing their hard copy, dead-tree-edition newsletter with an email publication. Emailed newsletters have the benefit of requiring fewer resources, going out faster, reaching a wider audience with less effort and being easier to correct if a mistake slips in. However, many of them end up being ignored just as much as their physical counterpart.

Every interaction designed for a brand, whether print, online or face-to-face, should be something that advances the brand’s purpose. If the audience’s reaction to anything you send out is ‘what was the point of that?’ – or worse, no reaction at all – something has gone wrong. There are, thankfully, several tips available for making sure that even a newsletter can have the desired effect and reach audiences with the message you want them to get.

Your organization has a purpose, and your brand has a purpose. It therefore follows that whatever you publish under the aegis of either should support that purpose. The most important thing to remember about your audience is that they are people. It is quite likely that they have jobs, interests and activities entirely unrelated to anything you wish to send them. In general, people are quite good at discerning what things are worthwhile and speak to their interests vs. things which are a waste of their time. The quickest way for your newsletter to enter the latter category is for it to be pointless.

When putting together a plan to launch or publish a newsletter, stop and ask yourself what purpose it needs to accomplish. If you can’t answer in less than 10 seconds, it is time to re-evaluate. Make sure that the newsletter provides strong content related to your primary goal as a brand and understand exactly why the newsletter is needed to get this content to the audience.

People are also creatures of habit, and will often keep on features simply because they’re offered. Make sure that the signup form for your organization automatically includes the email newsletter as part of the package, so that registering signs the audience up for the newsletter as a matter of course. If they dislike it, they can choose to opt out later, of course, but having it in front of them from the beginning means it is more likely to get to them, and thus they are more likely to read it at least once.

Spam protection is a huge deal on the web at the moment. It isn’t just a matter of disliking clutter or being irritated at receiving the same mindless emails again and again, either. Many spam messages contain viruses, malware, adware, spyware (and probably other ‘wares’ that haven’t been named yet, but are sure to be). Spam filters protect against these threats, and are native to most email clients now. Actual security suites like AVG or Norton provide even more aggressive email monitoring, and many newsletters find themselves getting censored out in the mess.

Take some common sense steps to keep your newsletter from this fate. Make sure your title isn’t too generic. Including words like “Free” or “As Seen On” are sure to trigger most filters. Put a dynamic, creative title in the subject line instead. Don’t overuse HTML in the body of the email, as this can also trigger a spam filter. Avoid writing in all caps, and other mistakes. Common spam-triggering mistakes can be easily researched on the web, and a little research can go a long way in getting your email to its destination.

Remember that integration is the key to all branding success. Put your brand or organization name at the beginning of your subject header. Always take the opportunity to cement your content with your brand, so that people associate the two instinctively.

This, of course, ties back strongly to having a clear and valuable purpose for your newsletter. People associate negative impressions even more strongly than they associate positive ones. Put out content you are proud to put your name on… or don’t bother.

When someone signs up for your email newsletter, send them an email congratulating them for this. Let them know about the newsletter’s purpose and schedule of delivery, and thank them for their interest in your product. This reinforces in the customer’s mind that the newsletter is a feature they can look forward to, rather than surprising them with it sometime later, when the act of signing up has gone out of their head.

In the welcome letter, consider inviting them to sign up for a paid product. This could be an expanded service offered by your site, or it could be your signature product. Don’t dominate the letter with it, because a sales pitch isn’t always welcome. Simply make it a matter of mention, to further associate your brand with your product.

Always consider the option of not publishing a newsletter for a particular period. If nothing has happened that would warrant a newsletter, don’t send one because you ‘have to.’ Never send a letter out of habit or out of course, but always for a purpose. Forcing the issue is one of the surest ways to get your newsletter disregarded and trashed.

— Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

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1. Free Small Business How To Content for Newsletter Ezines
2. How to Avoid Four Surefire Ways to Kill Your Brand
3. Building Brand Identity – Marketing With Twitter

I typically write a lot more about the “human side of marketing,” because I think topics like trust, sincerity, and emotions get overlooked in most marketing advice discussions.

And no matter how clever your copy and fail safe your system, neglect trust building and you will have to work twice as hard at your marketing for half the results.

But that doesn’t mean you can ignore the numbers side of marketing.

In this article I talk about why numbers are important and how to make them work in your marketing.

=== True Story ===

Last year I was promoting a new teleclass that I was very excited about. I had done the class as a live workshop twice and participants got great results.

It seemed to me that live success should easily translate into teleclass success, right?

I followed all the guidelines for successful online promotions, wrote a strong message, etc. And I didn’t get single sign up.

Someone suggested that I offer a couple scholarships so that we at least made or minimum enrollment of 8 participants. So I wrote another offer and posted it in a small business discussion forum in which I was well known and trusted by members.

Three days went by, then a week, and still, no one was signing up even to take the class for free!!!

Boy did that knock me off my center.

Lucky for me, I felt safe enough in this forum to post a second message telling folks that I was baffled and disappointed no one had taken advantage of my free offer.

Even luckier for me, other forum members responded with honesty and empathy. Of the ten people who responded:

2 said they were really excited about the class but they had other commitments on the class dates.

3 said they were focused on other parts of their business and weren’t ready to learn the subject I was teaching but to let them know if I gave it later in the year.

One said they were on vacation when I posted the offer

One said they didn’t feel they needed to take my class because they had already mastered the subject matter but they thought the class sounded great for those new to the topic.

The other three people didn’t mention the class specifically but said they appreciated my willingness to ask for help and encouraged me not to give up.

Here’s what I took away from the experience:

In marketing, especially in online marketing you must put your message in front of a lot of people and repeat your message over and over again over a period of time.

Why online marketing in particular? Because non-verbal communication–your smile, your tone of voice, your hand gestures, your posture–all go a long way to establishing trust.

When you promote online you often have only the written word with which to establish trust. Thus your response rate is a lot lower.

And, the chances of actually getting your message in front of the right people at the right moment is lower as well.

=== Understanding the Odds ===

For your marketing to work (for an audience member to act on your offer’s Call to Action) all of these things need to happen. Your prospect:

• actually needs what you’re offering

• is aware that they need what you offer

• trusts you and believes you’ll deliver what you promise

• actually reads or listens to your message when it goes out

• has the time and money to take you up on your offer

The odds I use are 1 out of 10 in the case of responses to online marketing.

In other words, for every 100 emails you send to readers who have opted in to your e-mail list:

10 will act on your call to action (click through to your sales page) 1 will actually make a purchase

And 1 in 10 (10%) is actually a spectacular rate of response! It’s not unusual for rates to be more like 5% even 1%.

What’s important is to remember these percents are guidelines. And you can actually improve your odds.

Factors that affect your response rate include:

• Familiarity with your offer. The more often someone sees your offer, the more likely they’ll take the next step assuming they want and need what you offer

• A marketing message that is personalized to the problem and the way your prospect experiences the problem

• How well you define your niche and the likelihood that everyone receiving your message has the problem you’re addressing

• Your message avoids words and phrases that trigger spam filters, etc.

=== How These Numbers Apply to Your Marketing ===

If you’re a small business owner and use online marketing, here are the main points to take away:

• Take Away Point #1 You Need a Large Email List

When someone tells me they’re disappointed with the low number of response they received from a promotion. The first question I ask them is, “How big is your list?”

How large is “large”? At least 500 subscribers, preferably 1,000.

It’s perfectly ok if you have a smaller list but you will need to supplement your online marketing with activities that are more personal: local networking, free presentations, etc.

• Take Away Point #2 Repeated Offers Over Time are a Must

People don’t see every email you send because …

• they’re out of the office

• they’re reading their email on their phone and only look at the most urgent messages

• they accidentally delete your email

• etc.

And even if they open your email they may not pay much attention because …

• your event is six weeks away and they just can’t think that far into the future

• they aren’t ready yet to take a class on the subject matter because other priorities take precedence

Which is why it’s so important to repeat your offers to your prospects over a period of time; such as six to eight weeks.

Because eventually, the people who want to enroll in your class or buy your DVD or hire you as a coach will actually see your offer, read it, and take action.

The main resistance to point #2 is “if I send too many emails, everyone will unsubscribe.”

Which is why there’s point #3; they won’t subscribe if the offer is relevant to something they need now or are likely to need soon.

You can email an offer for discounted tire inspections to your heart’s content but there won’t be many takers if most of the people to whom you’re promoting don’t own cars.

Once I sent out an offer and had no idea why people weren’t registering until someone emailed me saying “hey, I think the link is broken.”

Sure enough, I hadn’t tested the link people were supposed to click to view the sales page on my website.

Doh!

So, don’t assume everything works. Make sure:

• the links in your message take people where you want them to go

• your message isn’t peppered with words that will send your email right into spam oblivion

• you use the right dates and times,

• and check for typos.

Every one of those annoying little things can ruin an otherwise well done promotion and make it look like no one is interested.

=== Bottom Line ===

Numbers in marketing are every bit as important as your sincere intentions to serve. In particular:

• Remember you will lose about 9 out of every 10 prospects for each step they must take in the process to becoming customers.

• The more you depend on online marketing the more important it is to have a large list of subscribers.

• There are specific actions you can take to improve the odds so that you lose fewer people along the way such as

• - repeating your offers

• - making sure your offers are relevant to prospects, and

• - testing for technical problems.

– Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, “Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!” go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com

Related posts:

1. How to Use Guerrilla Marketing Email
2. How to Use Autoresponders: Business Email Marketing
3. Opt-In Email Marketing List Promotions

Unfortunately, the first word that pops to mind when many people mention email marketing is ’spam.’ The junk mail of the modern era, spam is frequently held up as an abominable combination of inconvenience and social evil, with spam blockers and anti-spam petitions filling the news online and offline. Of course, this means legitimate email marketing campaigns can get lost as weary consumers indiscriminately flag all marketing material as spam just to keep their inboxes clutter free.

How then can a company that has a legitimate, creative idea for an email advertisement series avoid getting caught in the spam trap? There are three key steps good copywriters and marketers can take to set themselves apart and boost their message open rates.

Important campaigns usually succeed or fail well before they’re ever launched – in the planning stages. Consider a recent and already infamous Intel advertisement. The advertisement had athletic sprinters lined up to race, a reasonable attempt to link the company’s processors to speedy performance. It failed because these athletes all were African American gentlemen who appeared to be bowing to a tall, smug looking Caucasian businessman. This was a clear breakdown in the planning process. No one asked the fairly obvious question ‘What could be wrong with this image?’ Intel pulled the advertisement and publicly admitted the mistake, but the image remains as a vivid reminder that cutting corners in the planning phase can bruise your brand.

1. Lay the Groundwork

The lesson here is that simple research, like enlisting a test audience, can mean the difference between hit and miss. The same holds true for email advertising campaigns – research is vital. Just because you can send out 100,000 generic emails within a few minutes of setting up a campaign idea does not in any way mean you should. Strategic planning up front not only can save you time in the long run, it also can secure your results.

2. Know the Audience

Previous articles have referred to the phenomenon of audience-influenced brands. This is particularly true now that the Web has become so extensively accessible. People’s opinions can catch public attention almost instantly, and word of mouth can spread across the entire world in a heartbeat. Whether or not you want the audience to control your brand is irrelevant; it can and will happen of its own accord, and you should be prepared for it.

Have you taken the time to really get to know your audience? There are thousands of Internet communities dedicated to every conceivable topic, hobby, interest, or fad and your product very likely falls into one of these. Visit these user forums, find out what people are saying, what needs are not being met, and what the general opinion is. Also, don’t just mine for information, but participate in the discussion. Engage and learn how people think and what they want to know about things. This isn’t a chore; this is an opportunity that businesses have rarely had in the past, a goldmine of information for any marketer to tap.

3. Kick up the Content

In many cases, businesses fail to treat email as a legitimate medium, although they’re eager to take advantage of it. Disregarding outright spam, even some well-intentioned ‘campaigns’ amount to little more than a poorly organized message presented in a jumble of mismatched colors rather than a serious attempt at focused communication.

The content of the email has to be strong. The first line has to provide a good hook, the body has to get the core, essential details out quickly and effectively, and the end has to have a call to action (be it a purchase or a website visit). Take the time to craft a message that shows you respect the reader’s intelligence, and put as much thought into the structure of the email as you would any other example of your best writing.

Once these three key elements are in place, consider a test circulation of your campaign before officially kicking it off. There is very little substitute for getting another pair of eyes to look over your hard work. They can spot unfortunate mistakes, call attention to strong points, and help you refine the process before the message is irrevocably out on the Web.

———- Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/

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1. How to Use Guerrilla Marketing Email
2. How to Use Autoresponders: Business Email Marketing
3. How To Make Email Marketing Campaigns Pay Off

When you have an online business, one of the most important things you can do is to build a mailing list. It is not as hard to do as some people think it is. You just need to know how to build a mailing list effectively.

To help you get started, there are some important steps that you need to take to build a mailing list. Here are the most crucial steps.

1. Freebie – If you are going to capture the email address and name of a person you must give them something that is useful and free. The first step is to find the free item that you will be giving away and ensure that it is something people will want. It can be a free business tool, software, report, or anything else to entice them to give you their information.

2. Lead capture page or squeeze page – The next step is to build a lead capture page or squeeze page. This is just a simple page where you offer the freebie, provide the reasons it is a good idea for them to sign up for your newsletter and then put a capture form from any auto-responder on the site.

3. Newsletter – You need to sign up for an autoresponder for free and start setting up a newsletter or ezine. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but again, provide free articles, resources, videos and many other things that people will want. This will encourage them to stay on your email list after they have received the freebie offered to get them there. Send out a newsletter once a week, every two weeks or even monthly to keep in contact with the people on your list.

4. Marketing – This is a vital step to take once you have done the other steps. If people don’t know about your squeeze page, they will never sign up. You have to market your page, just like you do your online business. This is the only way to get people to sign up and the more ways you use to market, the faster you will build your list

These are the most important steps to take for building your mailing list. Now that you know how to build a mailing list; all that is left is for you to get started. The faster you get started the faster you can build your list and use it as a powerful marketing tool.

About the Author: Suzanne Morrison is the owner of an home business opportunities website that teaches anyone how to build a email list. For the best home business ideas anyone can make money with visit it today! http://www.homebiz-direct.com/

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One of the systems I help my clients to implement is a schedule for getting on track with their ezine (electronic newsletter) as it’s so important that you have a systematic stay-in-touch strategy in place and a regular ezine is the perfect medium for achieving this!

However, the downside, and where so many solopreneurs fail, is that they don’t get into a regular publishing schedule and they start to lose their connection with their subscribers.

Today I’d like to share with you my top 10 tips for publishing a successful ezine and building that all-important know, like, and trust factor.

1. Create an editorial calendar – this is so that you can plan out in advance what topics you’ll be covering in each issue, and therefore avoid ‘blank screen/page’ syndrome.

2. Create a template – it’s so much easier to put your ezine together when you’ve got a template to work from. Plan which sections you want to appear regularly in your ezine and drop the appropriate content in each time. Hint: there are just two sections that are likely to change each issue – your personal note and your article – that’s it!

3. Keep an ideas section – in your newsletter binder create an Ideas section so that when you come across a resource or topic that you’d like to share with your readers you have a place to store the information, making it much easier to come up with articles and content for your ezine – you simply flick through your Ideas section.

4. Use an article template – when you’re stuck for ideas on what to write about, use an article template. It’s so much easier to write an article when you’ve got the outline done for you and all you need to provide is the content.

5. Use a title template - similar to number four above, but this time you’re just using a title as a basis for your inspiration, i.e. Top 10 Tips to [fill in the blank].

6. Utilize a list management service – this is a biggie! No sending out your ezine via your regular email program; you need to have a proper list management service for a variety of reasons, but the main ones being you need to comply with SPAM laws, signup for your ezine needs to be automatic, and when your list size gets above 50 most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) won’t allow you to send bulk emails via your regular email program.

7. Check hyperlinks - before you hit the ’send’ button, ensure that you’ve thoroughly read through your ezine and check that all your hyperlinks are working properly. There’s nothing worse than asking someone to click through to a specific page and then find that the link doesn’t work.

8. Don’t include too many calls to action – if you include too many calls to action (i.e. click here to do this, click here to do that etc.) you’ll simply confuse your subscriber as they won’t know what they’re meant to be clicking on. So what will they do … nothing! Only ask your subscriber to do one or two things in each issue.

9. Deliver on time – this is so important. You need to publish your ezine exactly when you say you will each time. Not only does this build your relationship with your subscriber but they will also come to see you as being reliable – you do what you say you’re going to do, when you say it.

10. Seek feedback – And finally, ask for feedback from your subscribers. This is a great way to create one-on-one connections and also get valuable feedback on whether your ezine is providing the information your subscribers want.

Follow these 10 tips and you’ll ensure your ezine success!

About the Author: Online Business Development Strategist, Tracey Lawton, teaches professional speakers, coaches, and authors how to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com

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Ethical Bribes: 10 Most Effective Client Attraction Device Giveaways Copyright © 2009 OnlineBizU.com

One of the quickest ways to build your email marketing list is by creating an ethical bribe, or what I refer to as a client attraction device. This free giveaway serves to entice visitors to your site to sign up for your email list because they want to access your solution to their problem proffered in your email list opt-in box.

What are the two most important characteristics of an effective client attraction device? It must provide the solution to at least one of the problems of your target market and utilize the keywords that your target market might use when seeking this type of solution. Secondly, your offering must have a high enough perceived value that your visitors would be willing to pay for it.

I routinely opt into many lists just to get the client attraction device. More times than not, the giveaway is simply a long reiteration of a problem, with the solution being available for purchase on the web site. This is the WRONG way to introduce yourself to prospects. Don’t be afraid to share some solutions with your prospects — it’s part of developing the Like, Know and Trust factor with them. If you are truly an expert in your field, the info you share for free is only the tip of the iceberg of the variety of solutions you can provide to your prospects.

What is the easiest way to create your own client attraction device? Here are 10 ideas that you can use to package your information into a valuable ethical bribe for your web site:

1. Audio of a presentation. Hold a teleclass on a particular topic and record it, or simply record a presentation with audio recording software on your computer. An audience isn’t necessary for a good recording — it is quality content that is the key.
2. Interview of an expert. Request to interview a noted expert in your target market. Ask the expert questions, or pull questions from a pre-assigned list you’ve been given. Record the interview and have it transcribed to create a two-part giveaway.
3. Special report or ebook. A special report is simply a short PDF report that runs between 2-5 pages. You can create this pretty easily by writing an article that’s 1500-2000 words. Typically an ebook is longer than a special report, combining several articles, or topics, to make a more complete overview of a topic. Format it to be easily read and add a bio page and and upsell page and your report is complete.
4. Checklist. A checklist is a 1-2 page PDF file that walks someone through a to-do checklist to complete a task. To create a checklist, simple outline the steps required to complete a particular task and insert a checkmark box in front of each so that the user can print out the list and mark off the steps as they are completed.
5. Video. Using video to promote your business is one of the hottest Internet marketing strategies today. You can create an info video that is a training or tutorial video made by using video screen capture software, or record yourself answering questions or presenting a topic with an inexpensive video camera. Upload it to your site or to one of the video hosting sites, and you’ve got a new client attraction device to give away.
6. Software. For as little as $50, you can hire a programmer to create a simple piece of software to help your prospects automate a task or solve a problem. Another option is to buy a license for some inexpensive software that you can then distribute as you wish.
7. Rolodex (Resources) list. Once you have developed a relationship with your prospects, invariably you will get asked to make recommendations for vendors to perform certain tasks. Because this list is valuable in that you have already gone through a number of services to find just the right provider and are thus saving your prospects hundreds of dollars and hours of time, create a list of these providers in a PDF document.
8. Templates. Templates are another time-saving device that prevents your prospects from having to reinvent the wheel. Package together templates you regular use, like templates for telephone followup calls, emails, email newsletters, to-do list, budgets, etc. Anything that will let your prospect use as a model for developing her own version will be greatly appreciated.
9. Worksheet/workbook. Sometimes information is better delivered in a format where the prospect can jot down ideas, answer questions, or brainstorm. A PDF worksheet or workbook is the ideal format for that to happen. Create a document with a series of questions and space to answer the questions, along with a bit of introductory text to set up the question, and you’ve created a useful workbook.
10. Ecourse. An ecourse is a series of emails that deliver information over a specific course of time via email. Your ecourse can last as short as 3 days or as long as 52 weeks. Once you pick a topic, simply determine the number of points that you want to make as you discuss the topic, and then create an email that thoroughly explains each point. Put the emails together in a sequence in your email marketing program and you have an ecourse.

If you simply request visitors to opt into your ezine list or your blog list, you’re not maximizing the work that your web site can do for you. Add a client attraction device to your opt-n box and watch your list grow!

About the Author: Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

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Tips On Effective Email Writing: Be Direct and Diplomatic Copyright © 2009 Luie De Von

We all know that an email has different parts which are the subject, salutation, signature and of course, the body. Every part are just as important as the others because each of them has a role to play. However, the preparation for the body of your email usually takes more time and effort.

In order for you to receive a positive response, the message should be clear and written with conviction. Below are some email marketing ideas on how to write a direct and diplomatic letter:

State Your Purpose.

What is the purpose of your letter? Always remember and focus on the reason why you are writing the email.

You can only come up with an interesting and meaningful content when you perfectly know what your main goal is.

Business owners or online marketers have a few reasons why they are sending out emails. Some of these reasons are as follows:

- To give information regarding the company, product or services

- To ask details from the recipient that is needed for the processing or shipping of orders.

- To invite the recipient to take action

Once you are sure and decided on what your email is all about, then that is the time to start composing your message.

Be Direct!

Most people find it annoying to receive emails that contain too many information that are not relevant. First, it takes up their time. Second, it can be a bit confusing for your recipient.

It is important to remember that when it comes to business emails, the shorter it is, the better. However, make sure that the thought is complete.

Introduction. At the beginning of your letter, state your complete name and the company you represent.

The main purpose of your letter should be included in the introduction.

Body. A recipient may not have all the patience and time to finish a very long letter. Make a very short message but make sure that everything is well-explained. Use powerful words that can attract you reader’s interest.

Stay Focused.

Let us say you are introducing a new product in the market and you want to inform your customers about it. Never try to market a number of products in just one letter. You need to focus on one particular product and include all its benefits and advantages.

Be Diplomatic.

Always observe courtesy when composing your message. Use “thank you” and “please” when the situation calls for it. Use a friendly tone but maintain professionalism. Refrain from using abbreviations and slang words.

Sometimes we tend to ignore the formatting of the email. You can try writing words in italic instead of using all caps when you want to put emphasis on a certain idea. Capitalizing all the letters of a word or a phrase might look like you are shouting at the recipient.

Using smileys are discouraged in business emails. You can use smileys when sending a personal email to your family and friends but never use it when sending marketing emails.

Remember these things when you are writing a business email. A business email that is correctly written is an effective way of reach out to your prospective customers.

About the Author: Luie De Von is a marketing consultant with http://www.easypostcardmarketing.com and has been providing consumers and business owners with marketing strategies. For years he has helped businesses to have more and growing clients through Postcard Advertising, Marketing Postcard and Business Post Card.

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Spam Fighting Toolkit

by Ralph Tegtmeier

Fighting the never ending tide of spam mail can turn into a very frustrating experience if you don’t know the real tricks of the trade. After all, there’s a whole lot more to it than simply responding to a (usually bogus) From: address with a peevish complaint!

Here’s a fairly extensive overview of resources that will aid you in effectively combatting unsolicited email, showing you the possibilities (and, alas, the limits!) of your endeavor.

General resources

The Spamhaus Project features a database tracks known Spam Gangs, Spam Support Services and the providers who keep organized spamming alive by knowingly hosting stealth spamming services on their networks. An extensive set of databases allows for tracking of established spam outfits, including statistics, etc. http://www.spamhaus.org/

Look up this list of established spambots: http://mosa.unity.ncsu.edu/brabec/antispam.html

Resources for header reading are listed at the Forum for Responsible and Ethical E-mail (some broken links, though): http://www.spamfree.org/resources/header_reading.html

Some spambot harrassment programs are listed here: http://www.turnstep.com/Spambot/harassment.html

Spam.abuse.net calls for spam boycots and offers lots of information an spam prevention legislation, and more. http://spam.abuse.net/ > Read their useful guide titled “How To Complain To The Spammer’s Provider” at: http://spam.abuse.net/howtocomplain.html

Mail forwarding services

Protect your mail box with disposable email addresses by signing up with Sneakemail: this service forwards everything to your regular box without disclosing your real address. If you find your Sneakemail address is being abused, you can simply delete it. Plus, it will help you track down businesses that flog your address to third party marketers. Neat. http://sneakemail.com/

Free email forwarding claiming to sport the net’s best anti-spam filters can be found at Despammed.com. Basically, it works as a remote spam filter. (That’s why they term themselves a “mail filtration service”.) http://www.despammed.com/

Spamex takes a similar approach, offering disposable email addresses as a measure to counter spam. It doesn’t bother with sophisticated spam filters, though – the minute your Spamex address receives spam, simply nuke it and get a new one. You can also fit their log in box link into your web browser’s links bar for facilitated access. Their slogan is noteworthy, too: “Because Sending You Email is a Privilege Not a Right!” http://www.spamex.com/

One of the best known anti-spam forwarders is Spammotel (what a name!) which also offers a pretty sophisticated, award winning plug-in for your email client, allowing you to keep track of whom you have given which email address of yours. This, of course, makes it dead easy to test web sites’ privacy policy. Moreover, it makes for a great tool to help you organize the e-mail you actually do want to receive. (Windows only.) http://www.spammotel.com/

Mail Abuse Prevention System LLC offers a commercial spam protection forwarding service at: https://stop.mail-abuse.org/

Spam filters

Webmasters running their own mail server may be interested in The MAPS Relay Spam Stopper, a queryable DNS-based database of spam-relaying mail servers. You can configure your server to utilize their list if you want to refuse mail from these types of servers. http://work-rss.mail-abuse.org/rss/

The same site offers the Realtime Blackhole List (RBL). This is a system for creating intentional network outages (“blackholes”) for the purpose of limiting the transport of known-to-be-unwanted mass e-mail. The RBL is a subscription-only system, working in such a manner that no one is denied connectivity to a non-RBLSM-subscriber. http://mail-abuse.org/rbl/

Reporting spam

This spam complaint primer spells it all out as it is and offers a sample complaint covering every important aspect of reporting spam to get spammers’ accounts and web sites terminated. ttp://combat.uxn.com/tracing.html

The all-time classic to report spam to is the not-for-profit Mail Abuse Prevention System LLC. http://mail-abuse.org/

The Network Abuse Clearinghouse is a complaint service that will forward your spam complaints to the culprits flooding your mail box. http://www.abuse.net/

The MMF Hall of Humiliation takes the approach of ridicule to combat spammers. Lots of parodies and spoofs of obnoxious unsolicited commercial emails, and more. Still, it has a very serious background, informing in detail about fraud indictments and offering rudimentary legal analysis of spam scams. http://ga.to/mmf/

This site offers monthly case studies of reporting spam and lists successes. You’ll see that while it’s quite an uphill battle, it can be done. http://www.obliquity.com/computer/spambait/

Reporting Tools

Some abuse reporting tools are listed here: http://www.abuse.net/tools.html

As for anything on the net, there’s a fitting mailing list available for people interested in software tools that detect and process unsolicited bulk e-mail: http://www.abuse.net/spamtools.html

Proactive Strategies

UXN Spam Combat offers a nice one-page form aggregating all the tools you need to solve the spam problem, ranging from NSlookup and Trace Routing to Pings, decoding of obfuscated web URLs, etc. Very useful. http://combat.uxn.com/

Uni-encoding the email addresses displayed on your web site is still a very efficient method of thwaring email address harvesters or extractor bots: http://fantomaster.com/famshield0.html

This page offers you tools to “poison” the spambots with by feeding them tons of invalid email addresses. While this admittedly places some strain on bandwidth and system resources, it’s also pretty easy to crash a spammer’s system this way – ah, sweet revenge! http://fantomaster.com/faantispamtip2.html

Many spammers are now offering their pathetic wares not via the internet but offline, preferably using toll free numbers. This article outlines a strategy on where and how to hit them hard – in their pockets! http://fantomaster.com/faantispamtip3.html

Probably the most effective method of prevention is blocking spammers and their harvester bots from your web site altogether. This tip expounds the strategy to pursue. http://fantomaster.com/faantispamtip4.html

The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE) is an international organization promoting anti-spam legislation. http://www.cauce.org/ They also publish “True Tales of Spam” here, where you may see your own story featured some day if you wish tp submit it: http://www.cauce.org/tales/index.shtml

Fighting spam with procmail under Unix is discussed in detail here: http://www.itworld.com/App/354/lw-03-geek_1/

The Mega Zine SpamScript software generates tons of bogus email addresses on the fly to feed (and crash!) spambot systems with. http://www.mega-zine.com/spamscript.html

For people who can’t run CGI on their systems, here’s a remotely hosted version of the spam script: http://www.softham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/spam_bots.htm

Tips on how to lure in spambots to special, “poisoned” sections of your site while keeping away innocent visitors can be found here: http://www.turnstep.com/Spambot/lure.html

Articles

Steven Champeon, Save Your Site from Spambots. Techniques to Prevent Address Scraping http://webtechniques.com/archives/2001/08/champeon/

Spambot Fighting site: http://www.turnstep.com/Spambot/

Humor

As a comic aside, spam haikus (some more, some less witty) are featured by the chockfull here: http://www.mmfhoh.org/mmf/haiku.html Finally, yours truly’s “Spam Sonnet” is offered as an educative example of what spam can inflict on the sensitive artistic mind … http://fantomaster.com/faantispamtip5.html

This text may freely be republished or distributed provided the following resource box is included intact either at the beginning or the end of the article and a complimentary copy or notice (link) is sent to the author at the address specified below:

Ralph Tegtmeier is the co-founder and principal of fantomaster.com Ltd. (UK) and fantomaster.com GmbH (Belgium), < http://fantomaster.com/ > a company specializing in webmasters software development, industrial-strength cloaking and search engine positioning services. He has been a web marketer since 1994 and is editor-in-chief of fantomNews, a free newsletter focusing on search engine optimization, available at: http://fantomaster.com/fantomnews-sub.html You can contact him at mailto:fneditor@fantomaster.com

© copyright 2001 by fantomaster.com All rights reserved. Downloaded at: http://fantomaster.com/

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